I want to know about - Engineers

It is important for someone with a fear of flying to understand that aviation engineering is undoubtedly the best engineering in any industry, anywhere.

From the technical and training points of view, aviation leads the world.  Many industries copy and adapt aviation procedures in training and in practice.  The nuclear industry uses our safety practices and the health industry uses our knowledge in human behaviour as individuals and when working as teams.  Aviation engineering and professional engineers are the best in the world.  

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In the old days aircraft engineers were very similar to motor car engineers, they would have spent a lot of time with spanners and oilcans mending and maintaining the various parts of an aircraft and its engines.  Now of course aircraft are much more sophisticated and reliable so engineers are more appropriately trained although their basic skills of mechanics, oilcans and spanners are still a part of their skill and their training.

	Aircraft are the result of years of painstaking research and development		They are built to withstand forces and uses far beyond those that are allowed or even likely to occur in normal airline operation		Maintenance is carried out between flights that's why you might see an engineer looking into the engine compartments while you're waiting to board		Aircraft are the most reliable bits of mechanical equipment you'll ever use.

But nowadays you're more likely to see an engineer carrying a laptop computer than a set of spanners.  Almost every modern aircraft is built with an electronic testing system for routine checking and maintenance.  In addition to the engineers there is built in test equipment on all aircraft which monitors and diagnoses the state of all the systems on board and relays that information to the ground engineers and their monitor screens.

It is now possible for ground engineers to monitor aircraft systems while the aircraft is in flight.

There are of course still a number of jobs that an engineer has to do which requires spanners and screwdrivers.  However, engineers do not work on their own; one engineer will do the work while another independently checks that it has been done correctly before it can be signed off in the aircraft's technical log.

Many people who have a fear of flying the often wonder about the quality of aircraft maintenance.  They only have to see an engineer working on their aircraft before they get on board to imagine the worst.  If your fear or flying arises from worry about the standard of engineering then you should remember that everything that is on an aircraft is checked, checked and checked again by enthusiastic and very competent engineers.

Before every flight an engineer checks the aircraft for serviceability and signs the technical log to this effect.  When an aircraft lands the pilot fills in the technical log for the engineers to check and rectify any faults.  In addition to the maintenance, the technical log provides evidence of the amount of fuel loaded and before flight and the amount consumed during the flight thus providing the engineers with another check on the engine conditions.

Finally the reason that you may see engineers looking at your aircraft and before you fly is that it is undergoing part of its maintenance schedule during the turnaround time.  When it reaches its destination, more maintenance will be done on another part of the aircraft.